Transformation pathways of chlorinated paraffins relevant for remediation: a mini-review

Identification of Hydroxylated Chlorinated Paraffins in Human Serum and Their Potential Metabolic Pathways

Short- and medium-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs and MCCPs) are frequently detected in humans. However, information regarding their metabolites is still very limited. Herein, target analysis and halogenation-guided nontarget and suspect screening were conducted on serum samples using UHPLC-Orbitrap-HRMS. The median concentrations of SCCPs and MCCPs were 7.76 and 4.31 ng/mL, respectively. A series of hydroxylated chlorinated paraffins (OH-CPs) were tentatively identified with an estimated average concentration of 1.80 ng/mL, which was approximately 9.9% of the total SCCPs and MCCPs. A chlorine distribution shift was observed from chlorinated paraffins (CPs) dominated by Cl6 and Cl7 to OH-CPs dominated by Cl5, Cl6, and Cl4. In human liver cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzyme incubation assays, the CPs in commercial mixtures were mainly metabolized into OH-CPs with various carbon lengths and chlorine substituents. The results obtained from human serum and in vitro experiments suggested the oxidative metabolism of SCCPs and MCCPs in humans. The metabolic pathways were then comprehensively explored using a CP monomer (1,1,1,3,10,11-hexachloroundecane) incubated with the same CYP enzymes, demonstrating that CPs can be metabolized through successive oxidative dechlorination and direct hydroxylation, with subsequent oxidation to carboxylic acids. Further studies should focus on the long-term toxicity of OH-CPs.

Temporal trends and spatial variations of chlorinated paraffins and olefins in sewage sludge from eight Swiss wastewater treatment plants from 1993 to 2020

High production rates of chlorinated paraffins (CPs) and their widespread use resulted in a global contamination. Since 2017, short-chain CPs (SCCPs, C10-C13) are listed as persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the Stockholm Convention. Technical CP mixtures contain hundreds of homologues and side products such as chlorinated olefins (COs), diolefins (CdiOs) and triolefins (CtriOs). Sewage sludge from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is a suitable indicator to assess anthropogenic emissions of POPs. We studied 40 sewage sludge samples from eight WWTPs taken in 1993, 2002, 2007, 2012 and 2020. These samples represent effluents of households of ∼344000 inhabitants corresponding to 4% of the Swiss population. Extracts were studied by liquid chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-MS, R > 100000). Respective mass spectra contained more than 20000 m/z values which were evaluated with the R-based automated spectra evaluation routine (RASER). We assigned ∼4300 ions to 226 CP, 94 CO, 32 CdiO and 26 CtriO homologues. Proportions of olefinic material were on average 8%, 1% and <1%, respectively. Homologue distributions from 1993 sludge were rich in SCCPs (26%) and SCCOs (36%). Average SCCP levels dropped by 85% from 15600 ± 14300 (1993) to 2370 ± 840 ng/g dry matter (2020). Thus, SCCP emissions from Swiss households and industry were reduced successfully from 1993 to 2020. Levels of medium- (MCCPs, C14-C17), long- (LCCPs, C18-C21) and very long-chain CPs (vLCCPs, C ≥ 22) decreased by 67%, 11% and 11%. 2020 samples contained some (<1%) very short-chain CPs (vSCCPs, C ≤ 9). Spatial variations for different WWTPs are minor, except for one, which received high MCCP loads from 2002 to 2012. We assume that wastewater from a point source has reached this plant in those years. According to the levels of sludge from WWTPs, we conclude that the use of SCCPs in Swiss households and thus the exposure of people was reduced in the last three decades.

Investigating the research landscape of chlorinated paraffins over the past ten decades

Chlorinated paraffins (CPs) are classified as emerging persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Due to their associated environmental and health impacts, these groups of chemicals have been a subject of interest among researchers in the past decades. Here we used a scientometric approach to understand the research landscape of CPs using literature published in the Web of Science and Scopus database. RStudio and VOSviewer programs were employed as scientometric tools to analyze the publication trends in global CP-related research from 1916 to 2024. A total of 1,452 articles were published over this period, with a publication/author and co-author/publication ratio of 0.43 and 5.49, respectively. China ranked first in publication output (n = 556, 43.3%), and the highest total citations (n = 12,007), followed by Sweden (n = 90), Canada (n = 77), and Germany (n = 75). Publications from developing countries were limited, with most contributions from Africa originating from Egypt (n = 7), South Africa (n = 5), and Nigeria (n = 3), primarily through international collaborations. The average annual growth rate of 4.3% suggests a significant future article output. This scientometric analysis allowed us to infer global trends in CPs, identify tendencies and gaps, and contribute to future research. Despite having similar toxicity to short-chain chlorinated paraffin (SCCP), long-chain chlorinated paraffin (LCCP) has received less attention. Therefore, future research should prioritize studying LCCP bioaccumulation and toxicity in diverse food webs, focusing on aquatic species vulnerable to CPs and effective toxicological models. Additionally, collaborative research with developing countries should be encouraged to enhance meeting the Stockholm Convention's demand.

A comprehensive characterization biotransformation of chlorinated paraffin by human and carp liver microsomes via liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry and screening algorithm

The chlorinated paraffin (CP) monomer 1,2,5,6,9,10-Hexachlorodecane (CP-4) was subjected to in vitro biotransformation using human and carp liver microsomes. Five types of CP-4 metabolites (OH-, keto-, enol-, aldehyde- and carboxy-CP-4) were identified in human liver microsomer while only mono-OH-CP-4 was found in the carp liver microsomes. Kinetic studies revealed that the formation of mono-, di-, tri-hydroxylated CP-4, keto-, enol-, and aldehyde-CP-4 in human liver microsomes was best described by substrate inhibition models, whereas the formation of carboxylated CP-4 metabolites best fit the Michaelis-Menten model. Notably, keto-CP-4, enol-CP-4 and aldehyde-CP-4 were the predominant metabolites. The estimated Vmax values for these metabolites were significantly higher in the human liver microsomes than in the carp liver microsomes. The intrinsic hepatic clearance (CLint) of CP-4 was higher in humans than in carp, indicating species-specific differences in its metabolism. This study also highlighted potential toxicity concerns, with computational predictions showing varying degrees of acute oral toxicity for CP-4 and its metabolites. These findings indicate significant species-specific differences in the biotransformation of CP-4, emphasizing the potential health and environmental risks associated with chlorinated paraffins and their metabolites, and underscore the need for further research to address these concerns.

Environmental fate and transformation mechanisms of chlorinated organic pollutants from the petrochemical industry: Insights for pollution control and remediation

Chlorinated organic pollutants (Cl-OPs), highly toxic and environmentally persistent, have become the spotlight, particularly from petrochemical industry. This study focuses on environmental fate of Cl-OPs from petrochemical industry, and transformation mechanisms in multi-media, aiming to enhance pollution control and remediation strategies. Emitted from leakage and waste discharge, Cl-OPs, encompassing chlorinated volatile organic compounds (Cl-VOCs), traditional and emerging persistent organic pollutants (POPs), were prevalent with average concentrations of 10-6-103 μg/m3 in the atmosphere, 10-2-105 μg/kg in soil and 100-105 μg/L in groundwater. Significantly, emerging POPs, particularly hexachlorobutadiene (HCBD) and short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs), with concentrations comparable to Cl-VOCs, urgently need attention. Once into the environment, Cl-OPs are naturally transformed primarily through atmospheric oxidation and water photolysis induced by hydroxyl radical (‧OH), and microbial degradation. Despite challenges in atmospheric complete degradation, ‧OH in water effectively photolytically degrade chlorinated benzenes and paraffins facilitated by dissolved oxygen and organic matter. Microbial degradation, influenced by oxygen, temperature, and pH, is essential for Cl-OPs removal from water and soil, where oxidation make complete mineralization possible whereas dechlorination may generate higher toxic intermediates. Hence, Cl-OPs control necessitates an attentive to leakage and waste management. Furthermore, advanced ‧OH oxidation and microbial treatment are of effective remediation prospect.

Characterization of short-, medium-, and long-chain chlorinated paraffins in Tibetan butter and implications for local human exposure

Since short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) were severely restricted under the Stockholm Convention in 2017, a shift to the production of other chlorinated paraffin (CP) groups has occurred, particularly medium-chain (MCCPs) and long-chain CPs (LCCPs), although data on the latter are sparser in the literature. This study described the occurrence of three types of CPs in butter samples from six livestock milk sources across 15 sites in Tibet. The median levels of SCCPs, MCCPs, and LCCPs were 132, 456, and 13.2 ng/g lipid, respectively. The detection rate of 97.6% suggests that LCCPs can be transmitted to humans. Thus, all CPs, regardless of their chain length and degree of chlorination, should be treated with caution. The differences in concentration were mainly caused by dynamic wet deposition and thermodynamic cold-trapping effects across the different districts. The homolog pattern of CPs varied widely across livestock species, which was attributed to the diverse impacts of the physicochemical properties of the homologs, especially the heterogeneity in the uptake and transfer of CPs across different organisms. Under three different criteria, the health risks associated with the daily intake of SCCPs should not be neglected, especially considering other intake exposure pathways and the degradation of longer-carbon-chain monomers.

Chlorinated Paraffin Pollution in the Marine Environment

Chlorinated paraffins (CPs) are ubiquitous in the environment due to their large-scale usage, persistence, and long-range atmospheric transport. The oceans are a critical environment where CPs transformation occurs. However, the broad impacts of CPs on the marine environment remain unclear. This review describes the sources, occurrence and transport pathways, environmental processes, and ecological effects of CPs in the marine environment. CPs are distributed in the global marine environment by riverine input, ocean currents, and long-range atmospheric transport from industrial areas. Environmental processes, such as the deposition of particle-bound compounds, leaching of plastics, and microbial degradation of CPs, are the critical drivers for regulating CPs' fate in water columns or sediment. Bioaccumulation and trophic transfer of CPs in marine food webs may threaten marine ecosystem functions. To elucidate the biogeochemical processes and environmental impacts of CPs in marine environments, future work should clarify the burden and transformation process of CPs and reveal their ecological effects. The results would help readers clarify the current research status and future research directions of CPs in the marine environment and provide the scientific basis and theoretical foundations for the government to assess marine ecological risks of CPs and to make policies for pollution prevention and control.

Bioaccumulation and Biotransformation of Chlorinated Paraffins

Chlorinated paraffins (CPs), a class of persistent, toxic, and bioaccumulated compounds, have received increasing attention for their environmental occurrence and ecological and human health risks worldwide in the past decades. Understanding the environmental behavior and fate of CPs faces a huge challenge owing to the extremely complex CP congeners. Consequently, the aims of the present study are to summarize and integrate the bioaccumulation and biotransformation of CPs, including the occurrence of CPs in biota, tissue distribution, biomagnification, and trophic transfer, and biotransformation of CPs in plants, invertebrates, and vertebrates in detail. Biota samples collected in China showed higher CP concentrations than other regions, which is consistent with their huge production and usage. The lipid content is the major factor that determines the physical burden of CPs in tissues or organs. Regarding the bioaccumulation of CPs and their influence factors, inconsistent results were obtained. Biotransformation is an important reason for this variable. Some CP congeners are readily biodegradable in plants, animals, and microorganisms. Hydroxylation, dechlorination, chlorine rearrangement, and carbon chain decomposition are potential biotransformation pathways for the CP congeners. Knowledge of the influence of chain length, chlorination degree, constitution, and stereochemistry on the tissue distribution, bioaccumulation, and biotransformation is still scarce.

Characterization of chlorinated paraffin-degrading bacteria from marine estuarine sediments

This study explored chlorinated paraffin (CP)-degrading bacteria from the marine environment. Aequorivita, Denitromonas, Parvibaculum, Pseudomonas and Ignavibacterium were selected as the dominant genera after enrichment with chlorinated paraffin 52 (CP52) as the sole carbon source. Eight strains were identified as CP degraders, including Pseudomonas sp. NG6 and NF2, Erythrobacter sp. NG3, Castellaniella sp. NF6, Kordiimonas sp. NE3, Zunongwangia sp. NF12, Zunongwangia sp. NH1 and Chryseoglobus sp. NF13, and their degradation efficiencies ranged from 6.4% to 19.0%. In addition to Pseudomonas, the other six genera of bacteria were first reported to have the degradation ability of CPs. Bacterial categories, carbon-chain lengths and chlorination degrees were three crucial factors affecting the degradation efficiencies of CPs, with their influential ability of chlorinated degrees > bacterial categories > carbon-chain lengths. CP degradation can be performed by producing chlorinated alcohols, chlorinated olefins, dechlorinated alcohols and lower chlorinated CPs. This study will provide valuable information on CP biotransformation and targeted bacterial resources for studying the transformation processes of specific CPs in marine environments.

Medium- and long-chain chlorinated paraffins in air: A review of levels, physicochemical properties, and analytical considerations

Chlorinated paraffins (CPs) are synthetic chemicals that are produced at high volumes and have a global presence. CPs are generally divided into three groups based on their carbon chain lengths: short-chain CPs (SCCPs, C_10-13), medium-chain CPs (MCCPs, C_14-17), and long-chain CPs (LCCPs, C_≥18). SCCPs have been formally recognized as persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and have been listed under the Stockholm Convention on POPs. Concerns about increases in MCCP and LCCP production as replacements for SCCP products are rising, given their similar properties to SCCPs and the fact that they remain relatively understudied with only a few reported measurements in air. Passive air samplers with polyurethane foam disks (PUF-PAS), which have been successfully applied to SCCPs, provide an opportunity to expand the existing body of data on MCCP and LCCP air concentrations, as they are inexpensive and require little maintenance. The uptake of MCCPs and LCCPs by PUF disk samplers is characterized in this paper based on newly derived PUF-air partitioning coefficients using COSMOtherm. The ability of PUF disk samplers to capture both gas-phase and particle fractions is important because MCCPs and LCCPs have reduced volatility compared to SCCPs and therefore are mainly associated with particulate matter in air. In addition, due to their use as additives in plastics and rubber products, they are associated with micro- and nanoplastics, which are considered to be potential vectors for the long-range atmospheric transport (LRAT) of these chemicals. The review has highlighted other limitations to reporting of MCCPs and LCCPs in air, including the lack of suitable analytical standards and the requirement for advanced analytical methods to detect and resolve these complex mixtures. Overall, this review indicates that further research is needed in many areas for medium- and long-chain chlorinated paraffins in order to better understand their occurrence, transport and fate in air.

Green remediation potential of immobilized oxidoreductases to treat halo-organic pollutants persist in wastewater and soil matrices - A way forward

The alarming presence of hazardous halo-organic pollutants in wastewater and soils generated by industrial growth, pharmaceutical and agricultural activities is a major environmental concern that has drawn the attention of scientists. Unfortunately, the application of conventional technologies within hazardous materials remediation processes has radically failed due to their high cost and ineffectiveness. Consequently, the design of innovative and sustainable techniques to remove halo-organic contaminants from wastewater and soils is crucial. Altogether, these aspects have led to the search for safe and efficient alternatives for the treatment of contaminated matrices. In fact, over the last decades, the efficacy of immobilized oxidoreductases has been explored to achieve the removal of halo-organic pollutants from diverse tainted media. Several reports have indicated that these enzymatic constructs possess unique properties, such as high removal rates, improved stability, and excellent reusability, making them promising candidates for green remediation processes. Hence, in this current review, we present an insight of green remediation approaches based on the use of immobilized constructs of phenoloxidases (e.g., laccase and tyrosinase) and peroxidases (e.g., horseradish peroxidase, chloroperoxidase, and manganese peroxidase) for sustainable decontamination of wastewater and soil matrices from halo-organic pollutants, including 2,4-dichlorophenol, 4-chlorophenol, diclofenac, 2-chlorophenol, 2,4,6-trichlorophenol, among others.